Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500189
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 25 Gwen's specialty is editing production sound and ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) so it's no wonder that words, including breaths, are very important. She often quotes (and adheres to) James Cameron's mantra, "Clarity is king." Meaning that the audience needs to hear what we want them to hear with as little interference as possible; be it dialogue or music or sound effects. VRS: What made you decide to go to Germany? GYW: There is a program called AFS [formerly the American Field Service] which is a student exchange program and they found a family that would take me and that's where they sent me! We recreated that experience with my son [Harrison, now 33 and in graduate school to be a registered dietician]. He went to Sweden and we 'traded' him for a petite, dark-haired Colombian girl for that year which was fun. My daughter Madeleine [now 29 and works in HR for the World Surf Federation] went to Paraguay, so we all did that exchange thing. I think it's really good to shake things up—so you know how to stand on your own two feet, without all the safety nets of home. It's a really good thing for people to do. When I came back from Germany, I went to Northeastern University and it was like a reverse culture shock. It was harder coming home than going over there! I didn't really relate to anyone there, which was kind of odd. So I switched to Boston University. I was going to be pre-vet for a while. Then I went to Suffolk University to do the "science-y" stuff. Then I thought: nah nah nah. I applied to NYU. I think I was one of the last people they let in with the one-year residency programs. I did four universities in four years! Then I graduated and moved to San Francisco. VRS: Was film something you thought you would pursue? GYW: I kind of kept coming back to it. My dad was an ad man—a 'mad man' on Madison Avenue. I liked his lifestyle—he was very successful and somehow film was a part of it. It wasn't necessarily sound, although my dad did say, 'All the coolest people work in sound.' I wanted to be an assistant picture editor for the longest time. And then I got those The 2023 95th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California. Dress by Nazlicouture (Nazli Eslami). three calls! And because I was here [in San Francisco], I just stayed. I love the crews up here. You do your job and you love the job but in reality, it's all about the people you work with. And I've worked with such interesting, fascinating people who are all really good and love what they do and are really supportive of one another. I can complain about work as in any job but I can't complain about the people I work with! VRS: It's great that you aligned with Skywalker because so many of us at